AROUND 50 small-business owners attended the opening of, what is described as, Bordon’s first free co-working space on Tuesday.

Signal is run by Emma Selby - the brain behind the Farnham and Guildford business hubs, with another in Portsmouth due to be launched soon.

Ms Selby’s latest offering - backed by town developer the Whitehill & Bordon Regeneration Company - opened its doors to provide free co-working spaces and affordable meeting-room hire as well as housing the new Bordon Business Hub, where business owners can access training and support.

Supporting entrepreneurial ventures and drawing businesses to Whitehill and Bordon is a key piece of the regeneration puzzle.

The Army’s presence at Prince Philip Barracks - the site being redeveloped by the Regeneration Company - was not only a character-defining aspect of Bordon, cementing it as a garrison town for 100 years, it was also a significant employer and supported a chunk of the local economy.

So regeneration stakeholders have known for a while that, with swathes of empty land and a growing population, laying the foundation for local employment and a thriving economy is essential. In fact, two tenets at the top of the plans have long been the relatively straightforward task of building 3,350 new homes - made of concrete things like bricks and mortar - and delivering 5,500 new jobs - a more abstract aim which requires, at least, some innovation. However, the two go hand-in-hand to an extent.

With a growing population, comes a growing demand for goods and services - demand which keeps money moving and creates employment opportunities.

And schemes like Signal illustrate the proactive efforts being made to support businesses and, perhaps, take steps towards the promise of 5,500 new jobs.

Signal’s home is the newly refurbished Martinique House, in Camp Road, and attendees enjoyed a networking session before coming together to participate in a free business seminar, entitled Keeping It Simple, delivered by marketing coach Vanessa Lanham-Day. Lunch was provided by Indian caterer A Sprinkle of Saffron.

The facility is part of the Seats2Meet network, meaning users of the Bordon space can have access to hundreds of other co-working spaces across Europe.

The venture is underpinned by a principle of building on social capital - with users of the co-working community asked to support each other by “paying it forward”, offering their experience and a little bit of time to other small companies. This might involve brainstorming marketing ideas, product testing or introducing contacts.

“The possibilities for collaboration, networking and sharing experiences within these four walls are really exciting,” Ms Selby said.

“I have spent the past six years building online and pop-up business communities but for much longer than that I wanted to give small-business owners a permanent home where they can get away from the loneliness of working from their kitchen tables, push aside niggling self doubt and turn their businesses into growing, profitable ventures that fit around their lives. So, today is a big moment for me and I’m really grateful to the Whitehill & Bordon Regeneration Company for backing that vision.”

Signal will run seminars and training sessions for young entrepreneurs, aged 18 to 24, through affiliations with Alton College and Bordon’s Future Skills Centre, as well as specific events for local artisans.

Signal will remain at Martinique House until early 2020 when it will move to a new building in the heart of the redeveloped town centre, at Prince Philip Barracks, with more co-working space, makers’ spaces and equipment and a retail market for homemade goods.

Small business owners who want a free place to work should e-mail [email protected], call 01420 556335 or visit signalbordon.org.